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By Timbo from Mempho - 15 Years Ago
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Gents, I have a 56 Victoria that has been in my family since the early 60s. This was my Dads car and I remember riding to elementary school in it. Dad passed away in 1982 and I have had the car since. Most of the years since 82 I have kept the car locked away in the garage. With raising kids and working I never seemed to have the time or money to spend on her. Now that my youngest has graduated college I have decided to dive off into the old Ford. Now for the fun part. At a recent family funeral, one of my uncles (my Dads old drinking buddy) was telling me some tall tales about all of the trick speed equipment inside of my y-block. I know my Dad was an old dirt racer and my motor had been raced but I always thought all it had was a cam and some good heads. After all of these years I finally got the motor out and tore into it last night. First the good: It is a 292 block bored to 3.860. I think this is .060 over 312. More good, 113 heads with some porting. The bad: standard cast crank (I was hoping for forged) with flat top pistons (I was hoping for pop ups like my drunk uncle said). The cam is a stock ford model instead of the special order Crane racing cam that above mentioned drunk uncle raved about. Also I was surprised to find a set of mismatched rods. (3 seperate rods with the # 3 stamped on them). Now for a few questions. I have 2 other y blocks, one is a 292 from a 57 ranchero and the other is a 292 marine engine. Would it be worth my time to tear these down to see if I have a better crank and rods or am I ok with what I have. Also, what are the chances that the marine engine has a forged crank? And lastley, I have the original 56 4 barrel intake with an adapter plate and a 600 holley. Would I see a big difference if I went with the Blue Thunder? Sorry about the lengthy post, just wanted to give the story behind the questions. Any input or suggestions will be appreciated. Later, Timbo.
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By bird55 - 15 Years Ago
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welcome to the site.
Good for you on saving your Dad's old vicky. By all means have fun with it and keep it going, you Old man would be proud.
If your Dad was real savvy he might have machined that 292 for a 312 crank. Check that first-you might be golden. A 312 crank often has a DOT on the crank flange. See Mummert's site.
If it doesn't have it you might consider that route to make it a stroker. Lot's o fun.
JMHO but I wouldn't put much interest in a forged crank for what you have there with a street car. It will do everything you need. The rods might be a different issue. Have to visit the machinist and get their advice.
If you snoop around here you'll find lots of build ups with great advice as to how to get it back on the road in fine shape.
On the marine engine (I've heard) you need to be cautious of internal rust depending on where it spent its life. But on the other hand they can be generally very low hours and ran in clean air versus "down a dirt road"
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By Ol'ford nut - 15 Years Ago
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WELCOME, you have come to the right place to get information. Your Dad did have all the "current stuff" to race old Fords. You couldn't beat a old y-block with a fresh valve job and a 4 bbl carb. And don't worry about the numbers on the rods as long as the caps match the rods. He left you the correct car to do something with, now have fun!
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By Timbo from Mempho - 15 Years Ago
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Though I might post a few pics along the way. I put those plug wires on when I was 15, I'm 50 now. I remember standing on my head all day until I got them like pop wanted.
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By Doug T - 15 Years Ago
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Marine engines generally did not have forged cranks and Al and others are correct a forged crank is not necessary for street. In fact most current supercharged and Nitrous cars with over 400 hp on tap are cast cranks.
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By PF Arcand - 15 Years Ago
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If you could find a 57 & later 4 bbl intake you could drop the adapter, & you might improve performance some, however unless you at least change the cam, a Blue Thunder is likely not money well spent.
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By John Mummert - 15 Years Ago
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Welcome to the site. You might look at the cam closer, especially the back end. Crane reground a lot of stock cams. There might be some markings on the back. Throw a dial caliper on a lobe to check the diameter. Stock cams are 1.350-1.375". If it is less than 1.300" it is a regrind. Ford cast cranks hold up well even for performance use. The 57 ECZ9425B intake manifold works very well for street engines. I will post some pics on how to identify a 312 crank in another post.
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By John Mummert - 15 Years Ago
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Here are some pics that will allow you to identify a 312 crankshaft at 25 feet. Impress your friends at swapmeets! EBU= 239 256 3.100" stroke EC= 272 292 3.300" stroke ECZ= 312 3.440" stroke  312 ECZ Crank
 272-292 EC Crank
Unfortunately 239-256 crankshafts look like 272-292 cranks. Look for EBU on 239-256 cranks.
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By Timbo from Mempho - 15 Years Ago
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Thanks so much for all of the info. I am out of town this week and it is killing me not to be able to measure my cam. I am pretty sore my crank is 292 based on the info y'all have posted. My pistons are stamped .060 and are "conformatic". Can't find much info on them but plan on reusing then unless someone advises otherwise. Sorry my pics didn't come through, will try again when I get home. Thanks again.
Timbo
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By Timbo from Mempho - 15 Years Ago
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Finally figured out how to post some pics. Turns out the my crank is definately 292 and the cam is genuine ford. Probably would replace the cam anyway, has some pretty bad pitting on a couple of lobes. Still wondering about the conformatic pistons. 
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By Ted - 15 Years Ago
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Timbo from Mempho (9/9/2009)
.....Still wondering about the conformatic pistons. Conformatic pistons are just another brand of cast pistons similar to Badger and Silv-O-Lite.
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By Timbo from Mempho - 15 Years Ago
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Update, just heard from machine shop, block good and only needs honing. Heads good, just a valve job with hardened exhaust seats. Turning crank to 30 30. Just ordered a cam, lifters and the new intake from Mr. Mummert. Probably will order a set of headers from Reds unless some one advises otherwise. Hopefully I will be annoying my neighbors soon!! later, Timbo
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By Timbo from Mempho - 15 Years Ago
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Gents, I've got a couple of questions some of you may can answer. I was able to latch onto a Lincoln Versailles parts car. Got the rear end out and it looks like the spring perches are 1" wider than my 56. Is there a problem in grinding them off and rewelding without removing the axles? Also got the C-4 out of the lincoln, is the conversion using Mr. Mummerts bell housing pretty straight forward or will I have problems with stuff like shift linkage, speed-0-cable, cross member etc. And lastly, the Versailles rear end has a 247 gear. Should I go ahead and swap out to a lower gear before I install? Later, Timbo
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By Ol'ford nut - 15 Years Ago
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What are you doing for front brakes? You asked about welding on rear end with axles in it. Then mentioned the axle ratio. It will have to be changed or the only thing you will ever pass is the filling station. The axles have to come out so just go ahead and get it over with. It will make unit easier to move around. Make sure you get your spring mounts welded on so you have correct angle on input shaft.
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